


Flying Through a Storm (You're My Safe Place to Land)

by QueenE



Series: Dumbos of a Feather Flock Together [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Wings, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dirty Dancing References, Dogs, Fluff, Good Boyfriend Steve Rogers, Happy Ending, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Interviews, M/M, Nesting, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wing Grooming, Wingfic, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24236335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenE/pseuds/QueenE
Summary: It was crazy, how time flew. Tony and Steve had been together for almost eight months since their chance meeting and Tony felt like nothing could hurt him anymore. Until an interview brought up good ol' Howard Stark and it suddenly felt like everything was crashing down. Thankfully, Steve is there to pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Dumbos of a Feather Flock Together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737142
Comments: 35
Kudos: 122





	Flying Through a Storm (You're My Safe Place to Land)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you for taking a chance on this fic and on me. This is the second part of this AU but you don't really have to read the first part to read this one. Extra thanks goes to MountainRose and szzzt for letting me borrow a concept from their Stony wingfic [Who Has Known Heights](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1935504/chapters/4180326) and to [FestiveFerret](https://festiveferret.tumblr.com/) who kindly beta'ed this for me. You're all awesome and I'm endlessly grateful~

It was crazy, how time flew, Tony mused to himself as he basked in the Friday morning light. He and Steve had been together for almost eight months, since their chance meeting on April 21st. It was undoubtedly the best almost eight months of Tony’s life, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. If the world wanted a piece of it so badly, it could try and pry it from his cold, dead hands, and even then, there were no guarantees. 

Tony sighed as he soaked in the rays of Vitamin D, relishing in the heady mixed scent of him and Steve in their nest together. Six months into their relationship, the two had moved in together in October to Tony’s penthouse, or more accurately what had been Tony’s personal bedroom. It was considered a big step in society, when couples moved in together, because typically up until that point nests were “virgin” and unshared. In following that tradition, during his debauched juvenile bachelor days, Tony had kept two bedrooms, one for one-night stands who would leave after the deed was done, and his own personal one with his nest that no one had been allowed in until Steve. 

But Tony would immediately give up anything for the chance at what he had now. Heck, he looked forward to going to sleep, which was something he never thought he would say. Knowing that Steve would be there to ~~snuggle~~ sleep with and help keep his nightmares at bay was everything to Tony, and he would never take it for granted. His sleep wasn’t the only thing that was improving since dating Steve, his wings were also noticeably much better taken care of, as once they moved in together they had begun to groom one another’s wings. Grooming was another intimate act that you did yourself until you found a serious partner that you would groom, and who in return would groom you. Unfortunately, it seemed that they could only coordinate one of the two—falling asleep together or waking up together—at a time, but they were trying to work on that. 

After falling asleep, tucked safely in the Yin and Yang cocoon of their wings, Tony had awoken at the very reasonable time of 12:00 PM to find that his perfect, angelic, Adonis boyfriend had already left for work and taken their sweet corgi pupper, Sirius, with him for Bring your Pet to Work Day. Steve had adopted Sirius the year before they had met, and being the Harry Potter fan he was, he couldn’t resist naming his canine baby anything else. Thankfully, Tony was very pet friendly and Sirius had warmed up to Tony fairly quickly after moving in. He and Steve had carefully established a routine—Steve took Sirius out in the morning on his run, then Sirius would come to sit with Tony in his lab happily lounging and watching his dad work while Steve was away, and then the three of them would reunite in the evening. It was all disgustingly domestic and wholesome, and Tony wouldn’t want it any other way. 

Earlier on in their relationship, Steve’s job had presented a potential point of friction between them, since Steve had been scared that Tony might not want him to keep his job as a freelance artist and an art professor at NYU. He was only 30 years old, which he joked was much too young to be retired. Thankfully, it had ended up not being much of an issue at all, Tony was all too happy to have Steve keep his job, as long as he allowed Happy to escort him, since Tony usually worked long and odd hours anyway. 

“Sir, I feel as if I should notify you that the press conference and subsequent interviews that you have scheduled for today are going to begin preparations in an hour. It may be prudent of you to start getting ready,” JARVIS gently reminded him, ruining Tony’s lazy morning vibe. 

Tony sighed. “I’ll get right to it J.” Letting out a low groan, Tony flipped over onto his stomach, trying to stretch out his wings as he internally berated himself for forgetting about the long day he had in front of him. It wasn’t _his_ fault that he had been so… distracted… by Steve last night that he had forgotten! Or, at least that was how he was going to justify it to himself, even though he knew Pepper wouldn’t buy it for a second. He took an extra minute to roll his eyes and huff and puff a bit more before finally dragging himself out of the tantalizing mixture of blankets, pillows, and their combined essences that was their nest. Tony grinned to himself, _their nest_ , he would never get tired of hearing that. 

“J, what are we looking at for our fashion statement today?” Tony asked as he made his way over to the closet. It was early December in New York, which meant that layers were going to be key to surviving the day without getting frostbite or hypothermia. JARVIS silently highlighted a few options within Tony's stupidly large closet, letting Tony pick and choose before he gave any advice. 

Tony blearily wiped the sleep out of his eyes, slowly processing the array of colors, patterns, and textures in front of him. He flap-hopped over to the undershirts first, selecting a worn, plain white comfort tee. It wasn’t like anyone would see it underneath the layers, anyway. After fitting his wings through, he then layered a soft, silky, white button-up on top and for the finishing touch, a cozy, hot rod red sweater with electric blue stripes that Pepper had given him for something a few years ago. He paired this top look with some plain but classy black jeans and a pair of classic, black, Vans sneakers. Overall, it was actually a pretty stunning look. The black complimented his inky black wings, the jeans were snug and accentuated his ass perfectly, the red helped showcase his warm-toned skin, and the blue helped add a fun bit of color. Pepper may even, dare he say, be proud of him when she saw him. She wasn’t going to be at the press conference or interviews with him, but he knew she would see it all soon after it was done. For the final touches, he grabbed a pair of dark tinted sunglasses and a classy, golden, Patek Philippe watch that let him know it was time to get a move on, lest he be late.

After taking one final glance in the mirror, Tony flew to the kitchen, slammed back a cup (or three) of coffee, and was on his way to meet Happy outside. Hopefully, the day would go smoothly, but then again when did anything ever go smoothly for Tony Stark? Tony sighed, at least he would get to see Steve at the end of it all.

***

The long to-do list of a day started surprisingly well. Tony ended up making it to the conference on time and even managed to be semi-engaged until it blessedly ended. Thankfully, he hadn’t needed to talk much since he was largely there just to act as a warm body on the panel. Since then though, it had been a whirlwind of conversations, colors, scents, and people. By 6 PM, had Tony eaten breakfast, lunch, or any dinner? Who knew! Not Steve, and it was going to stay that way. While it was endearing, Tony really didn’t want to engage his boyfriend’s Mother-Hen mode. 

The interviews were all fairly easy, which made Tony suspicious. He didn’t know if it was luck, voodoo, or some other weird shit that had somehow made all of the interviewers ask the same questions: “What is it like to not be CEO anymore? What are you currently working on? Any plans for the future?” Regardless, Tony was now on his last one and certainly wasn’t complaining, even if he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It gave him ample time to daydream about Steve, who the press blessedly still didn’t know about and would continue not knowing about for the foreseeable future. God, Steve was amazing, with his heart of gold, fluffy white wings, show-stopping Hollywood smile, rippling muscles, not to mention that magical thing he did with his tongue that always made Tony see stars… God, if Tony had known about that, he would’ve been even more of a mess than he already had been on their first date. But he wouldn’t have changed anything, Tony reflected as he smiled fondly, it had been perfect.

_It was three days after the fated traffic sign meeting, and they were undoubtedly three of the longest days of Tony’s life. But today was the day! They had texted earlier that morning to confirm their coffee date at Cool Beans! per Tony’s suggestion, and there was no turning back now. Well, Tony could’ve gotten out of it if he had wanted to—Pepper could attest to that— but Tony would’ve sooner sold DUM-E to a community college than canceled on The Angel._

_By the time Tony got there at 1 PM on the dot, Steve was already sitting there waiting for him. As Tony approached the table, Steve looked up and time stood still. His eyes were mesmerizing, an intoxicating mix of ocean blues and sea glass greens with interspersed flecks of gold that complimented his golden hair to a T. Tony was pretty sure he was on the verge of drooling, so he internally shook himself, smiled softly, and extended a hand. “Hey, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”_

_Steve smiled warmly up at him, “Hey yourself! And no, don’t worry about it. I've only been here for a few minutes.” He paused, looking adorably awkward rubbing the back of his neck as Tony sat down. “So... nice weather we’re having?”_

_Tony stared at him and his shit-eating grin for a second before breaking into peals of laughter. He clutched at his sides as he desperately tried to get his body under control, although it was a losing battle if his wingtips twitching in unabashed amusement was any sign. Eventually, he was able to breathe again and he leveled Steve with a grin of his own. “Damn, how long have you been waiting to break the ice with that one?”_

_From that point on, any ice that had existed between them was broken and conversation flowed as if they had known each other for years. All sense of time was lost, and by the time they bothered to check in with the outside world, the sun was setting and a blonde male waiter with piercing silvery grey eyes and dusky black wings was beginning to clean up and close the shop for the night. It was both the most memorable and best date Tony had ever gone on._

“Mr. Stark, the eighth anniversary of your parents' deaths is in a few weeks, how do you feel about that? How are you planning to commemorate it?”

Tony froze as he was yanked out of his reverie and back to reality. He began sweating, his wingtips quivering, his vision blurring. His breath was coming in shorter and shorter bursts, his fucked up heart working overtime. He heard sound, but it was like he was a ghost watching the living world move on without him, only able to catch brief murmurings and echoes. It must’ve been him speaking, probably spewing out some patented bullshit about the Stark legacy and how much he loved and mourned for his parents (which wasn’t a total lie, he did miss Maria) and how it was such a great loss to the world, but Tony couldn’t grasp onto any of it. 

“Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Stark,” the interviewer said kindly as she reached out a hand to shake. All of a sudden, the world snapped back into place, and on autopilot he just smiled his “press smile” and nodded, shaking his numb hand once before booking it out of there. 

***

Tony could tell that Happy was worried, his glossy, umber colored wings twitching concernedly, and he kept shooting glances at Tony every other minute. Tony wanted to talk to him, to reassure Happy that he was fine and dandy, but he just couldn’t. He was exhausted, and when he tried to speak, no words would come out. So he just kept his mouth shut, closed his eyes, and focused on his breathing until Happy told him that they had arrived. He knew he should check his phone—he hadn’t had a chance to do so all day and it would be 7:30 PM by the time he would get back to the Tower–and he knew Steve would be worried, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to do that either. He sighed, resigned to whatever valid reaction his boyfriend would give upon seeing him after a whole day of radio silence. 

“We’re here boss,” Happy informed him.

Tony startled briefly; he hadn’t even registered that they weren’t moving anymore. “Thanks Happy, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he managed to choke out in reply. He gave a half-hearted wave, yanked open the glass doors, and swiftly flew to the elevator. “Penthouse, J.” Before he had even finished speaking, the elevator was moving, each second bringing him closer to Steve. 

The mouth-watering smells of homemade Italian food assaulted his nose, and Tony’s stomach immediately took notice, the starving-creature noises that were emanating from it effectively drowning out all other sounds. His wings acted on their own accord, flying him to the kitchen before he had even registered that he was moving. 

Damn.

The sight of Steve in fuzzy polka dot socks, soft navy sweatpants, a plain blue-grey t-shirt with a “Kiss the Chef” apron on top, and a happy smile as he cheerfully danced around the kitchen with Sirius at his feet should’ve been illegal. He had his earbuds in, and he and Sirius were completely oblivious to Tony’s presence. Despite himself and what had happened, Tony found himself smiling, he was glad that at least one of them had a good day and were in a good mood. He leaned against the doorframe, basking in the presence of his own personal sunshine, and jumping slightly when he felt a small presence bump up against him. Tony chuckled, “You ruined my basking, bud, but that’s ok because you are just the most adorable little puppy wuppy, yes you are. You’re such a good boy.” Tony cooed and rubbed at Sirius’ sable fur, grinning in response to Sirius’ own corgi smile. 

“Hey, what about me? Am I chopped liver?”

Tony glanced up and smiled slyly in response. “Hm... I don’t know… tough question. What do you think, Sirius? You think this big, blonde lug deserves a warm welcome too?” Sirius yapped in response, and Steve and Tony chuckled together as Tony flew over and burrowed into his boyfriend’s arms. “Mmm… you smell nice.” His head rose and fell where it was rested as Steve chuckled, one of his large hands coming up to comb through Tony’s hair. Tony moaned, damn Steve for knowing all his weak points, as his walls slowly melted away and his center reoriented to being back to where it belonged—with Steve. 

They stood there for an indefinite amount of time, Tony cocooned in Steve’s arms and wings, feeling safe and _home_ for the first time since he had woken up. If he didn’t know better, he would even have said that his eyes were getting a little misty—but he knew that wasn’t true since Stark men were made of iron. It was probably just some of the smoke from the stove getting to him. Yeah, that was it. 

Tony reluctantly pulled away, immediately mourning the loss of warmth and connection. “So what’s all this about? I didn’t miss an important date, did I?” Tony fought to keep his tone as neutral as possible as he not-so-subtly wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. His eyes were really sensitive to smoke, ok? 

Somehow, Steve wasn’t buying it, though, his eyebrows furrowing into his patented Worried Mother Hen look, but as he went to open his mouth to say something, Tony glared and shook his dead, daring Steve to rebuke him. It was a tense moment as their wills battled it out against each other, but Steve eventually sighed and grudgingly conceded. “Don’t think we aren’t revisiting this after dinner. And to answer your question, I got back a little earlier than expected and thought I’d make you a treat. I know carbonara is your favorite and it’s also what you ate before meeting me so I figured I would show my thanks and try my hand at it. JARVIS helped too.” 

Tony blinked, dumbfounded. “But… why would you… what did I do to—” He was cut off by a soft sigh. 

“I did this because I love you, because you exist, and because you deserve the world and more. Don’t argue with me because then it’ll get cold and that’s no fun.” 

Tony opened and closed his mouth a few times in shock as Steve smiled fondly at him and went back to finishing cooking the meal. The timer on the microwave going off was what finally snapped him out of it, and he found himself sitting at their kitchen table that had a plain white tablecloth and flowers placed carefully on top. He grinned down at Sirius who was putting his puppy eyes to good use, knowing that food was on its way. Tony laughed softly, patting the forlorn pup’s head, knowing that Steve had already fed him dinner by now. 

Seconds later, Steve appeared, apronless, carefully balancing two plates that held heaping portions of homemade carbonara, a side caesar salad, and some garlic bread on their shining surfaces. Tony was pretty sure he was drooling onto the tablecloth at this point, but was too hungry to care. He had to sit on his hands to restrain himself from inhaling it all on sight, wanting to at least try to savor Steve’s lovingly cooked meal. Tony had a feeling that his cacophonous stomach was giving him away, though, since Steve was especially quick to pour a glass of red wine for Tony before pouring himself some and then _finally_ sitting down. Tony cut Steve off from whatever toast he might’ve given as Tony managed to rush out a “Thank you so much this looks heavenly I love you please excuse me while I inhale this all” before unrepentantly diving fork-first into his plate. 

It was a solid 10 minutes of silence between them, one of the longest stretches ever in their history. Tony was sure that they must've made quite a sight, with Tony scarfing down every last crumb and morsel of food while Steve tried his hardest to not bust out laughing as he watched Tony with hearts in his eyes. All the while, Sirius was busy scrounging underneath the table for any scraps that his humans might’ve dropped. 

Eventually, Tony’s industrial vacuum level of inhalation slowed to a more reasonable human pace, as he stifled moaning after taking a bite of the garlic bread. How was a pasty Irish boy better at making Italian food than some Italian restaurants? Tony shrugged to himself, must just be the magic of Steve. Steve, noticing this internal conversation, shot him a confused look over the glasses of wine, but Tony just smiled and waved it off. “So, now that I have regained my powers of speech, how was your day? Did the kids like Sirius? Did he have fun meeting them?” 

Steve snorted. “I’m glad my carbonara came out to your liking, although, maybe we should test it again when it’s not your first meal of the day. My day went well. My art history classes were doing presentations and watching videos today so that was fairly easy. Everyone loved Sirius, and I've already received numerous bribes to bring him back. Sirius had a blast too—he’s a total attention whore and couldn’t get enough of meeting everyone. But what about you? How was your day? I didn’t hear from you at all. Did everything go ok?” 

To anyone else, Steve may have sounded accusatory, but Tony knew Steve wasn’t accusing him of anything, he was just genuinely concerned. Most of his questions were also purposefully rhetorical, since Steve knew that that was the best way to get Tony to open up and they both already knew he hadn’t had a good day. 

Tony sighed and averted his eyes, shoulders and wings slumping, “I’ll tell you, I promise, but can we finish dinner first? And maybe watch a movie or something before going into it? I kind of just want to…” He trailed off, not actually knowing what he wanted, but thankfully Steve somehow did. 

Tony looked back up to see a tender smile on Steve’s face, as he replied, “Of course Tony. Whatever you need.” Tony relaxed, and dinner passed in a haze of lighthearted talk and banter. Steve filled Tony in on what his best friend, Bucky, and Bucky’s boyfriend, Sam, had told him earlier. The two had officially finished moving into their apartment in Boston after their time in the army finished, and Tony was looking forward to meeting them in person. 

Once the two were done with dinner, Tony got up to do the dishes but was immediately turned back around so he now faced in the direction of the living room. “Don’t worry about it, doll. I’ll clean up here and then come join you on the sofa.” Tony full-body shivered as Steve placed a light kiss on the sensitive crook of Tony’s neck before smacking his ass to get him moving towards the sofa. 

“Aye aye captain” Tony cheekily replied once he’d recovered, as he flew backwards into the living room, giving Steve a wink and a salute. After situating himself into a suitable comfy position with Sirius laying on his lap, he turned his attention to what movie he wanted. He settled on the movie _Fancy Flying,_ a romantic drama dance film from the ‘80s. 

He had just gotten it queued up when Steve flew in and plopped down beside him, causing Sirius to migrate over so he was laying across both of his dad’s laps. Steve placed a kiss on the top of his head before curling a comforting arm and a downy white wing around Tony as JARVIS dimmed the lights. 

Halfway through the movie, through yet another killer, airborne dance scene that Tony was convinced he’d break every bone in his body if he attempted, he heard a faint “huffing” sound. At first he thought it was Sirius, but when he glanced down at the pup he was just snoozing away without a care in the world. That left… “Are you laughing?” Steve turned to look at him with unconcealed mirth in his eyes. 

“Yeah, sorry, it’s not the movie I promise it’s just—” he broke off to laugh some more. “Did I ever end up telling you the story of how I was arrested?” 

Tony blinked, trying to think about if it had ever come up again after that first hasty mention during their first meeting when he had been concussed. “No… I don’t think you did and that is a _crime_ in and of itself that must be immediately rectified. Spill, Rogers.” Tony waggled a finger at him threateningly as Steve had the audacity to keep chuckling in front of him. 

Steve wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry, that got away from me. It just hit me hard, I guess. Do you know what skylarking is? Dallying on the wing?” 

“Yeah… I’ve heard of it,” Tony said hesitantly, “but I thought that was outlawed in every state after World War II ended. Why do you bring it up?” Tony raised a suspicious eyebrow at Steve as he waited to hear whatever unrealistic crackhead story that had apparently actually happened that he was going to tell him.

“Well… the airborne dance scene”—he gestured at the TV screen—“reminded me of when Bucky tried to teach me how to partner dance in the air for a high school event. But that was back when I was sickly and skinny so when we went up… uh… well—” At this point, Steve’s face was red, so red that he glowed in the dark, and he ended up having to take a pause to laugh some more. Once he’d recovered, he resumed his story. “So anyways, I was really skinny right? So when we flew up and began to practice dancing, my pants… uh... well… they slipped a bit. Well, more like a lot. As in down to my ankles. And just as they slipped an air patrol just happened to be passing by and... well… Ma wasn’t too pleased with us after getting a call from the police that night telling her that her son had been caught dallying on the wing with someone. It was all sorted out, eventually, and we were released, but needless to say I was permanently scarred after that. Hey, don’t laugh at me, this was traumatizing!”

At this point, Tony was clutching his stomach, trying to hold in the waves of laughter that threatened to burst out from his mouth. It was a losing battle, and he ended up rolling around on the sofa as he let out belly laugh after belly laugh. He had to wipe tears from his eyes once he was done, but it was worth it. He felt lighter than he had all day, and he knew that had been Steve’s goal.

He sat up from where he had toppled and crawled into Steve’s lap, cupping his face in his hands and kissing him softly. One of Steve’s hands wound into his hair, the other cupping his ass as he pulled Tony closer, deepening their kiss and licking into his mouth as if he was a man dying of thirst and Tony was an oasis. Tony eventually pulled away, exhaling softly against Steve’s lips, and let the last bits of tension from the day roll off his wingtips. He slumped against Steve, allowing himself a rare moment to be vulnerable and cycle through his emotions. 

He felt his shoulders and wings start to shake, and he instinctively buried his face into the crook of Steve’s neck. He felt a gentle hand come up between his wings and soothingly stroke. “Shh baby, it’s alright. You’re safe, sweetheart. Get it all out. I’m here for you, love.” Steve continued to softly murmur sweet nothings in his ear, the pesky salt water droplets from his eyes falling faster as Tony took in ragged breaths. 

After a few minutes, Tony’s breath slowed and his eyes stopped producing liquid that would annoyingly spill over and run down his face and be a nuisance. He groaned, he was exhausted, but that wasn’t surprising considering he was always drained after he let out some of his extremely bottled up emotions. He sighed softly, nuzzling into Steve’s chest. 

“That’s it sweetheart… you wanna tell me what’s been bothering my fella? Do I need to go have a stern talking-to with someone?” 

Tony smiled weakly against Steve’s chest. Taking a few deep breaths before leaning back so he could look Steve in the eye. “As much as I love your knight in shining armor complex, no, no one needs a stern talking to or your mean right hook to the face.” He paused, and sighed deeply. “No, I should’ve seen it coming but everything had been going so well and I got complacent so I was blindsided when…” Tony paused to collect himself. “When the last interviewer brought up the death anniversary that’s in a few weeks.” His voice was shaking and his lip was wobbling, but thankfully Steve knew what he was talking about. Tony had confided in him a few months into their relationship about what Tony’s family life (or lack thereof) was like and each time Tony was forced to remember it and brought it up to Steve, he could sense the devastation and anger, not at Tony, never at Tony, but at the world, that lurked beneath his Angel’s comforting words and gentle kisses. 

“Oh baby… I’m so sorry.” Steve gathered him impossibly closer and lightly tipped his head forward so his forehead lay against Tony’s. “You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” 

“It’s ok, Steve, you can’t be with me every waking hour of every day. It’s enough that you even love me to begin with,” Tony replied, smiling despite himself as he saw Steve’s outrage at Tony’s self-deprecating comment.

“Hey now, do you want a stern talking-to? Because no one says that about my fella and gets away with it.” Despite the worry that lingered in his eyes, Steve was still playfully smiling as he spoke, clearly hoping to cheer Tony up. 

Instead of answering Steve’s question with words, Tony pressed his lips to Steve's, hoping that somehow he could convey the unending depth of love he felt for him through their kiss. Their mouths moved in familiar harmony, and Tony moaned into Steve’s mouth, chasing the warmth and love that radiated off of Steve, that Steve gave him willingly and unfailingly each and every time they kissed. 

Steve gave one last peck on his lips, as they settled into a comforting silence, with only their breaths and Sirius’ to be heard. 

After some amount of time passed, Steve gently nudged Tony. “You feeling better?” 

Tony couldn’t bring himself to vocally answer, so he just nodded against Steve and hoped he was understood. 

“Do you want to move to the bedroom? I wanted to groom your beautiful wings tonight anyways, since it’s been about a week, but we can stay here if you want to.” 

Tony sluggishly raised a hand to haphazardly point in the direction of the bedroom, sighing in relief as he felt Steve stand up with Tony still wrapped up in his embrace and smoothly fly them both over to their nest. 

Steve gently set Tony down in the center of their nest, smiling as Tony made grabby hands at him to join him. “In a minute baby. I gotta grab the oil first. You just focus on rolling onto your stomach and getting comfortable, ok? Try to relax for me.” He dropped a small kiss on his forehead before swiftly gathering the necessary materials. 

As Steve went off and did that, Tony hastily shucked off his layers until he was only wearing his black, silken boxer briefs. He scowled down at the scarring on his chest, quickly flopping over onto his stomach to conceal it. He knew it was illogical, since there was scarring on his back too that looked just as deformed as the scarring on his chest, and Steve had seen the scars many times and was always quick to be loving and kind about them. Steve liked to insist in that unbelievably earnest way of his that they were just marks to show how strong Tony was, and how much he had overcome. Tony liked to agree to disagree with him on that. He couldn’t help but feel self-conscious, especially compared to Steve’s glowing skin and unblemished body. 

As if summoned by Tony’s negative thoughts, which might honestly not be so far from the truth, Steve flew back into the room bringing with him warm washcloths, grooming oil, massage oil, and Sirius who was quick to lie down on his nearby dog bed. Tony looked over appreciatively at his boyfriend through half lidded eyes, as he set everything up. “What’s the massage oil for, big guy?”

Steve snorted. “For a genius you sure can be quite stupid. The reason is in the name, doll.” 

Tony harrumphed at that. “I thought you were supposed to love me and help boost my self-esteem, not tear it down.” But their playful fight was forgotten the second Steve’s warm hands, which were coated in the aforementioned massage oil, began working Tony’s foot muscles. Tony didn’t bother stifling his groan, mentally thanking Steve’s Ma, Sarah, who had taught Steve to give her massages after her long workdays as a nurse. Tony sighed happily, easily admitting that he would kill to protect this sliver of heaven on earth, perfectly content to sink into the deliciously dopey feeling of warmth, love, and care. 

Time moved like molasses as Tony vaguely registered Steve working up his body slowly, making sure that each and every muscle and bone in his body was as relaxed as could be. 

“Spread your wings out for me?” Steve murmured quietly, and Tony sluggishly complied. “You’re so beautiful Tony… I’m going to paint you like this later, all blissed out and happy like you should always be.”

Tony tried to reply, “You think I’m beautiful? I’m surprised I can even look at you, you're so blinding… I can’t believe how lucky I am,” but he didn’t think that it came through very well as he slurred something unintelligible back to him. The sentiment was there, though, and that was what mattered, as the two lapsed back into a soothing silence. 

Tony didn’t want to miss a second of this life-changing experience, but Steve was still working on grooming Tony’s left wing with the right one still to go, and Tony’s eyes were becoming heavier and heavier. Somehow, maybe because of the not-so-subtle yawns, or maybe because he was magic, or perhaps some combination of both, Steve picked up on this. “It’s ok sweetheart. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up, and every day after, for as long as I live,” he murmured as he bent down and kissed the nape of Tony’s neck. Tony wanted to protest, he wasn’t _weak,_ he could keep his eyes open goddamnit, but then Steve began humming a soft, Gaelic lullaby, and he knew he was done for. 

“Ok… I love you,” Tony garbled into his pillow, finally shutting his eyes. 

The last thing he heard before he drifted off was a soft, “I love you most.”

**Author's Note:**

> [This](https://www.keystonepuppies.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Welsh-Corgi-Category-1024x707.jpg) is what Sirius looks like. I would love it if you leave me kudos, and I would die for you if you leave me a comment! Please let me know if you liked it, loved it, or heck even if you hated it! I don't currently have plans for more parts of this AU, but I'll probably come back to it at some point in the future. If you have any ideas/prompts for me let me know and I could try to make that happen.
> 
> If you guys want to chat, I’m on [tumblr](https://queene36.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://www.twitter.com/queene36/%E2%80%9C%20rel=). I’m also QueenE on the POTS Discord Server! I hope that you all have an amazing day and that everyone's staying safe and healthy :)


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